Ice Dam Prevention Guide - What You Need to Know

Have you noticed that your home’s gutters get all covered with icicles and frozen gutters in the winter? This may look normal at first, but it’s actually very dangerous. Ice dams are infamous for causing severe damage to roofs in Bozeman, Montana.

If you see any, call your professionals for roofing in Bozeman MT, right away. In addition, here are some other ways you can avoid the issues and damage that they cause!

How Do Ice Dams Form?

These dangerous structures are basically ice clumps that build up at the edge of your guttersduring the colder months. They form during snowstorms when the snow lands on your shingles and the warmth from your home melts it just enough to flow into your gutters. In your gutters, the water becomes exposed to the cold again and refreezes. As this process repeats, a dam of ice forms fills up your gutters.

Risks

The damage that ice dams cause is severe if not taken care of immediately by roofers in Bozeman, MT. With each snowfall that hits your house, the ice dam will grow in size and severity. You run the risk of ice forming under your shingles and expanding, causing the shingles to lift or curl.

This breaks the watertight seal your Bozeman roofing contractors added in when your shingles were installed. When the shingles get shifted all around and water gets under your structure, severe water damage and warping can occur, which will damage your structure enough to need a full replacement.

Prevention

There are many ways to reduce your home’s risk of getting these frozen blockages! According to roofing companies in Bozeman, the best methods include:

• Increase ventilation under the structure to prevent the initial melting
• Remove snow from your home promptly after each storm
• Use metal materials instead of shingles or tiles

Ventilation from your Bozeman roofing companies will keep your structure cool, preventing the initial melting stage. And this stops it from flowing into your gutters and freezing.

Local roofers recommend using metal roofing in Bozeman, MT because metal structures have more secure waterproofing and are more resistant to damage from frozen blockages.

Removal

Aside from preventing these blockages with ventilation from your roofing in Bozeman, Montana, the only other option is to remove the blockage as soon as it is formed.

This way, it won’t be there long enough to create lasting problems. You should call professional Bozeman roofers who can easily and safely remove these.

Don’t attempt to remove them on your own, because walking on frozen shingles is extremely dangerous. Always consult your roofing contractors in Bozeman, MT for roof work to keep yourself safe.

Final Thoughts

Ice dams start as a small concern, then quickly become a huge issue and require help from roofers in Bozeman. If left alone, these blockages can cause your shingles to lift, shift, curl or crack.

To avoid this type of damage, invest in high-quality insulation for your structure through your roofing contractors in Bozeman. This helps reduce the chance you end up having a blockage form.

You can also look into Montana metal roofing to reduce the damage you might see from ice dams in the future. In case you do see one develop this winter, call your roofers in Bozeman, MT, to have it removed right away!